ORIGINAL MUSIC REVIEWS
Music Business Advice :
Artist Self Management vs. Manager
Recently, I saw a post on a musician website asking fellow musicians their opinion about hiring someone to manage their band. It became an Original Artist Self Management vs. Hiring a Manager debate. This subject also came up a couple of months ago, when I saw a good band NOT look or sound their best during an opening slot for two nationally know bands. After witnessing the sound and promotion goofs, I actually became angry on behalf of the band because of their blown opportunity to increase their buzz and audience base. The unsigned band had poor sound and not one flyer with the national bands and the unsigned band's name on it. That band does not have a manager. Any manager worth his/her salt would have prevented the problems they had. Maybe someday, that band will have another chance to reach the people from that audience. I said MAYBE. I think that I read that the band broke up or took a break. I wonder if it was partly due to the stress because they didn't have a manager. Hmmm...
I am sure that you have heard of original performing artists named: Elvis, Led Zeppelin, Snoop Dogg, Bon Jovi & Miley Cyrus. Have you ever heard of their managers: Colonel Parker, Peter Grant, Suge Knight, Doc McGhee, or Jason Morey ? Maybe you don't know their manager's names, but each one of those managers were key to building the above mentioned original music artists from the ground up. To those who may not know; Miley Cyrus is NOT represented by her country singer/actor father Billy Ray "Achy Breaky Heart" Cyrus. Behind the musical talent comes the business component which could make or break you. A manager with experience will guide an artist through the maze of land mines and missteps which could distract you and/or make you look bad and/or kill your career before you get going. Without a manager to guide you you could get lost. Behind the scenes, a lot of hard work goes into the making of a "successful" original music artist. True, music is the key component to being a successful original artist. If your music is not ready to advance up the mountain, you are not ready to read the rest of this post.
In the music world, there are many types or "titles" of managers.
Some of the names and a boiled down description of their functions & duties are:
Booking Agent/Manager -books the gigs.
Business Manager -over see fiances.
Merchandise Manager -orders, set up and sells the T-shirts & other merch.
Personal Manager -takes care of everything you can't when you are on tour.
Road/Tour Manager -over sees transport, lodging, sound/light crew.
Stage Manager -makes certain that all of the artists equipment are loaded, unloaded, set up, torn down, well maintained so that the artist sounds good & looks good.
Since you are an unsigned or indie music artist working your way up to the top, in this post, I am speaking in terms of a "General Manager" who does a little bit of all of those management things. I believe that if you want to move up to the top of the mountain of your music career to avoid the pitfalls, you need a competent manager. A manager can guide you to your goals as well as straighten out any problems along the way. Others would disagree. Read the following and make up your own mind. Here are some of my thoughts about Artist Self Management vs. Manager:
Artist Self Management Positives
1) You are in charge. The Big Boss. The top dog. The head honcho. The decision maker. You have Total Control of every single thing you do large or small. Even the tiny details like what temperature the drinks are back stage. You will never have a conflict or disagreement of the direction of the business side of your music. Unless you have multiple personalities.
2) Save Money. Artist pay managers a percentage of their income, aka points. Music Artists can pay from 10% and up to 25% of CD or down load sales, ticket sales, and Merch sales. Lets face it not paying someone, means more cash in your pocket.
Manager Positives
I am sure that you have heard of original performing artists named: Elvis, Led Zeppelin, Snoop Dogg, Bon Jovi & Miley Cyrus. Have you ever heard of their managers: Colonel Parker, Peter Grant, Suge Knight, Doc McGhee, or Jason Morey ? Maybe you don't know their manager's names, but each one of those managers were key to building the above mentioned original music artists from the ground up. To those who may not know; Miley Cyrus is NOT represented by her country singer/actor father Billy Ray "Achy Breaky Heart" Cyrus. Behind the musical talent comes the business component which could make or break you. A manager with experience will guide an artist through the maze of land mines and missteps which could distract you and/or make you look bad and/or kill your career before you get going. Without a manager to guide you you could get lost. Behind the scenes, a lot of hard work goes into the making of a "successful" original music artist. True, music is the key component to being a successful original artist. If your music is not ready to advance up the mountain, you are not ready to read the rest of this post.
In the music world, there are many types or "titles" of managers.
Some of the names and a boiled down description of their functions & duties are:
Booking Agent/Manager -books the gigs.
Business Manager -over see fiances.
Merchandise Manager -orders, set up and sells the T-shirts & other merch.
Personal Manager -takes care of everything you can't when you are on tour.
Road/Tour Manager -over sees transport, lodging, sound/light crew.
Stage Manager -makes certain that all of the artists equipment are loaded, unloaded, set up, torn down, well maintained so that the artist sounds good & looks good.
Since you are an unsigned or indie music artist working your way up to the top, in this post, I am speaking in terms of a "General Manager" who does a little bit of all of those management things. I believe that if you want to move up to the top of the mountain of your music career to avoid the pitfalls, you need a competent manager. A manager can guide you to your goals as well as straighten out any problems along the way. Others would disagree. Read the following and make up your own mind. Here are some of my thoughts about Artist Self Management vs. Manager:
Artist Self Management Positives
1) You are in charge. The Big Boss. The top dog. The head honcho. The decision maker. You have Total Control of every single thing you do large or small. Even the tiny details like what temperature the drinks are back stage. You will never have a conflict or disagreement of the direction of the business side of your music. Unless you have multiple personalities.
2) Save Money. Artist pay managers a percentage of their income, aka points. Music Artists can pay from 10% and up to 25% of CD or down load sales, ticket sales, and Merch sales. Lets face it not paying someone, means more cash in your pocket.
Manager Positives
1) Time management. When you have someone delegated to do the business side and look at the big picture so you can focus on the Music side of your success. This means more time for you to focus on writing, practicing, recording, & preforming your tunes and less time on the Internet & phone doing business.
2) Connections. Many managers have worked in various parts of the music industry. Every single person they have ever met, you now know. This can be an advantage to you in your career. You have heard the cliche: "it is not what you know, but who you know."
3) Extra eyes, ears, & brain can't hurt. You can not truly hear or see how you sound or look on stage. You have a limited view of your own. A good manager will make sure that the sound & lighting people are doing their jobs. Keep an eye on your merch & equipment when you walk away to use the bathroom.
4) Handle things while you are on stage. In the past I have seen very good bands play shows with soundmen forgetting to add fx on the lead singer's vocals or the light person didn't know the their cue at points of the performance, a band would play in the dark. A good manager would have been at the board or had someone else working the board to prevent these goofs.
5) Protection. Some scruple less people target musicians for bad deals and even scams. They think that musicians are stupid, lazy, and gullible. I have seen bands bumped off of shows or play weak slots because they have not have someone to fight for them. I have also seen them give money for nothing in return.
6) Buffer Zone. You can say no saying "no." Someone asks you to play for 75 cents on a raft in the pacific ocean at 3 AM as a favor to a family member of yours. If you had a manager to tactfully say no, you can still look like the good guy. You could truthfully tell your family member: "Listen we would LOVE to play on a raft in the ocean at 3 AM but are manager won't let us do it." Also; many companies, promoters, venues don't want the headaches with dealing directly with the artist. An original music artist can be as sensitive to business matters as a Cover Band can be when you ask them if they wrote anything ORIGINAL, lately.
Hiring a Manager
Being a manager is not about wearing a suit & tie. In the unsigned / independent music business world, wardrobe doesn't mean a thing. What is important is what a Manager DOES. When you are successfully selling out seating of 20,000 plus venues you will have several types of mangers to do your bidding. A Booking Agent/Manager, a Business Manager, a Merch Manager, a Stage Manager, Road Manager, even a Personal Manager, not to forget needing an attorney, a publicist, and other crew members. Yes, a Music Artist Manager should have some general business knowledge. Any empty suit can know about general business. A successful Unsigned or Indie Artist's Manager should have a bit of music knowledge. The job is more than just hire & fire your roadies, attorney, publicist, or booking agent. When a crew member is sick, the person who usually fills in for them is the manager. As I said before; General Artist Managers need to over see the handling of several different tasks. Advertising, Booking, CD Sales, Lighting, Merch Sales, Social Media, Sound, Ticket Sales, Travel/Transport, are a few duties management must under take. Copyright, Publishing, recoupability clauses, tour support, guarantee vs. percentage scales, what is an XLR Snake, are all things a good manager should know.
When hiring a manager you should keep in mind that they should be someone you trust with your lively hood. They should be smart and able to look at various sides and angles of a deal. Honesty & knowledge are two key ingredients in a manager.
Bad Manager Behavior
Example 1 Example 2
If you are sold on hiring a Manger, please beware of who you hire ! Their are some shady people out there and you just might be related to one. Just because you hire a family member, doesn't mean that you hired the right person. Country Star Randy Travis recently filed a law suit claiming his ex-wife/ex-manager inflated travel expenses to con thousands of dollars from him. The piano man himself; Billy Joel, sued his former brother in law/manager for $90 MILLION DOLLARS in September of 1989 claiming fraud. Mr. Joel was only awarded 2 Million, but he won. A young Michael Jackson with The Jackson Five & The Jacksons, along with a solo Janet Jackson & Latoya Jackson were all managed by their Father Joe Jackson at one point or another. Over the years they all broke away from their father to go on and use other management because of various accusations. None of those accusations, if true, were good.
If the person has a reputation for being a drunk, druggie, or thief stay away. Reputation goes far in the music business. Remember, just like some people in the biz will not even look at you if you don't have a manager, they will stay away if you have a bad one. If you know your manager has a problem chances are you will miss out on opportunities because others know about the problem, too.
Stay away from managers who represent 500 other original artists. How much time will they have to work for you? I suggest that you also stay away from managers who charge you fees up front. If a manager is good and they think that they can help make you a success, they will take their payment on the back end of the deals and not on the front end or in advance. Your manager must believe in you & your talent just as much as you believe in them.
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| Colonel Parker behind ELVIS and Sharon Osbourne behind OZZY |
-Alex
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